Once a year the Jefferson High Seniors make the nearly one-mile long hike up to the J northwest of Boulder to update it with their graduation year, leaving their – albeit temporary – mark. Painting the J usually takes place on the Friday before homecoming, while hallways and the school are getting spruced up for the homecoming activities. However, due to weather and a jam-packed athletic schedule, painting was postponed with the hope there wouldn’t be snow on the ground when the day came.
On Friday, Oct. 21, many of the JHS Class of 2022 were finally able to get to work. All together 23 of the seniors – plus several faculty and staff – worked on updating the numbers and refreshing the paint. Although the weather was a little brisk, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the group.
Hallie Coonen, a senior who transferred to Jefferson during her sophomore year, said that “about halfway up the hill, I looked back at the tiny little town and it really struck me that I’m actually graduating this year. It caused a lot of mixed feelings because I never thought I would make it this far, let alone in a whole different town.”
When senior year hits there are often a whirlwind of activities to make sure the graduate-to-be can walk across the stage on the big day, but it’s the activities like painting the J, choosing colors for caps and gowns,what the class motto will be and spending time with classmates away from classes that help make the year bearable.
Luckily, the weather stayed nice for the group, and they had nearly perfect weather with just a little bit of smoke in the air for the hike up. And they finished just in time with Friday morning being the last bit of fall weather before the rain and snow hit over the weekend. And although more paint may have ended up on the seniors than the rocks, they still managed to get the job done.
